The .500 A-Square is a belted, bottleneck rifle cartridge, developed by Arthur Alphin in 1976. The cartridge is based on the .460 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the bullet; the same as the .50 BMG cartridge. This was Col. Alphin's first commercial sporting cartridge and was designed in "response to some severe problems experienced with the .458 Winchester Magnum on safari in Mozambique."
The .500 A-Square was a proprietary cartridge and the world's most powerful commercially available sporting cartridge. However, the .50 BMG is the world's most powerful commercial cartridge for any shooting purpose. The .500 A-Square is used specifically for the hunting of elephants and Cape buffalo as well being used as a backup gun for professional hunters and guides while hunting thick skin dangerous game in Africa.
Overview
The .500 A-Square cartridge was commercially available from both A-Square and Midway USA as loaded ammunition. The ammunition was available in three loads: Monolithic Solid Soft-nose thick jacket Soft-nose thin jacket
All bullet/cartridge combinations were advertised with a muzzle velocity of and muzzle energy of .
In comparison: the parent cartridge, the .460 Weatherby Magnum is commercial loaded with a Monolithic Solid has a muzzle velocity of and muzzle energy of . The .50 BMG as commercial loaded with a FMJ M33 ball ammo has a muzzle velocity of and muzzle energy of .
Although there is limited hand-loading information, bullet weights (hunting) are from between to .
A-Square Company In October 2011, A-Square ceased all ammunition operations.
References